Judge approves name change for inmate convicted in WikiLeaks case

The Army private who is incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth for leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website has legally changed her name to Chelsea Manning.

Comment

By John Richmeierjrichmeier@leavenworthtimes.com

The Leavenworth Times - Leavenworth, KS

By John Richmeierjrichmeier@leavenworthtimes.com

Posted Apr. 23, 2014 at 6:09 PM

By John Richmeierjrichmeier@leavenworthtimes.com

Posted Apr. 23, 2014 at 6:09 PM

Story at glance ....

• Bradley Manning has legally changed her name to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning.

• Manning is serving a 35-year sentence a...

» Read more

X

Story at glance ....

• Bradley Manning has legally changed her name to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning.

• Manning is serving a 35-year sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth for leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website.

• David King, Leavenworth County District Court judge, approved the name change Wednesday.

• Fort Leavenworth spokesman Jeff Wingo said the name change will not affect Manning's status at the Disciplinary Barracks.

The Army private who is incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth for leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website has legally changed her name to Chelsea Manning.

Manning was given the name Bradley Manning at birth.

District Judge David King granted Manning's petition for the name change during a hearing Wednesday in Leavenworth County District Court, according to court records.

Manning, who is an inmate at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, was not present for the hearing, Court Administrator Steve Crossland said.

"Today is an exciting day," Manning said in a statement posted on the Chelsea Manning Support Network website. "A judge in the state of Kansas has officially ordered my name to be changed from 'Bradley Edward Manning' to 'Chelsea Elizabeth Manning.' I’ve been working for months for this change, and waiting for years."

Manning, 26, filed the petition for the name change in Leavenworth County District Court as a Kansas resident.

Manning arrived at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in August to begin serving a 35-year sentence. At that time, she announced she wanted to go by the name Chelsea Manning.

The Associated Press adopted the practice of using female pronouns when referring to Manning.

The petition for the name change was filed in January in Leavenworth County District Court, according to court records.

Kansas law requires a person to have lived in the state for at least 60 days before requesting a name change.

The law also requires a person to provide a reason for the name change.

"I desire to change my name because while born a male, I identify as a female," Manning wrote in the petition.

Manning indicated she felt uncomfortable with the name Bradley Manning because it was too masculine.

Manning wrote in the petition that she had privately identified herself as a female since Feb. 2, 2010, and publicly identified herself as a female since Aug. 22, 2013.

Notification of Manning's petition was published in the Leavenworth Times ahead of Wednesday's hearing.

In his court order granting the petition, King indicated he had received no objections to the change.

The name change will not alter Manning's status at the Disciplinary Barracks, which classifies Manning as a male inmate, according to Fort Leavenworth spokesman Jeff Wingo.